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As such, many of the people I knew running left their ambitions of achieving personal bests at the start line and simply tried to survive.

For some, that meant having to accept that they’d be finishing in nearer to five hours than four. For others, it meant accepting that they’d be walking some bits and stopping regularly for a drink.

While we lamented our friends’ fates, one member of our party (who previously ran a sub four-hour marathon with a broken leg) started joking that as long as none of them finished in over six hours, they could all still keep their heads held high.

US-based UltraRunning magazine reported that in 2003, 18,000 people in the US had completed an ultramarathon. Last year, that number was 105,000.

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A third of all the participants at this year’s marathon were first-timers. It’s a race that’s no longer just for elite athletes or obsessive amateurs. A standard road marathon has transformed into an endurance event for people of all fitness levels, backgrounds and interests.

It’s not just on the road that we’re pushing ourselves to ridiculous heights in the name of fitness.

Just look at the numbers of people slogging their guts out at places like Barry’s Bootcamp – chasing fat-burning endorphin through the pain. The number of similar bootcamp-like studios that have strung up as well as boutique spin class suggests that we really want to feel ourselves pushed to the edge.

It’s not enough to comfortably make it through a 45-minute session anymore. and it seems like making it through a comfortable (if a marathon can ever been called comfortable) run is no longer impressive for some.

But let’s remember that a lot of marathon running is in the mind. A perfectly fit and healthy person could take an age to complete a race if they get stuck behind a mental wall. When I ran the race myself, I saw plenty of experienced-looking champions come crashing down with cramp at about mile 18. You just can’t defend yourself against that.

Marathons – whether they’re 42km or 100km – are a test of mental endurance as well as physical ability.

Before you even get to the race course, you’ve had to spend months running or walking alone, you’ve had to fundraise thousands for a chosen charity, you’ve had to endure drinking bans, sports massages and blackened toenails.

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The final 26 miles is just that – the last of hundreds you covered leading up to the race.

In the final analysis, what business is it of anyone’s but yours how fast you ran? Whether you’re proud of your eight-hour marathon or ashamed of your four-hour time, only you know what you’re capable of and why you’ve decided to give it a shot.

Judging other people’s efforts is kind of weird, especially when the great thing about running is that it’s every person for themselves. In a team sport, sure, it’s more complicated as a team-member’s performance changes how you perform.